When Water Dragons mature, they lose the ability to survive on land, entering the water permanently. They are adept swimmers and eat whatever fish are in the lake they live in. They tend to inhabit the same lake for their entire lives, although a few live in the ocean and swim all over the world.

Dragons are highly-intelligent reptilian creatures that—from a human perspective, at least—appear to live forever. Many different varieties of dragon exist, each with their own unique qualities, habitats, and behavior. Adolescence in dragons is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling’s wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. In Galsreim, dragons and humans coexist peacefully.

Uisge-Beatha is the result of the love between the Water dragon Sherynn and the Guardian dragon Maduinn. The first half of his childhood he spend in the cave of clan Shoogle, his father dutifully watching over him and keeping him warm as an egg. When he hatched, he was taken down the mountain, to the loch where his mother lives. Although he visited his father and his family quite often, the journey up the steep mountainside became more and more difficult for the legless little hatchling. Games with his Guardian and Silver cousins were always an unequal match: on land his cousins had the clear advantage with their strong legs and wings, and under water Uisge-Beatha would cut through the water swiftly and elegantly whereas the other hatchlings had trouble to stay afloat, never mind swimming and diving. In the end, Uisge-Beatha matured, and thus lost the ability to survive on land. Now he spends all day swimming and fishing in the loch alongside his mother.